Hadrian
Director, Forward Deployed Engineering - Manufacturing
$300K–$415K
Los Angeles, CA · On-site · Director · Full-time · Posted Oct 28, 2026
- Experience
- 8+ years of manufacturing or manufacturing engineering experience with a qualifying degree, or 12+ years without a degree; 3+ years managing technical teams.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or a related engineering field, or 12+ years of manufacturing or manufacturing engineering experience without a degree.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
About the job
Leads Hadrian’s forward deployed engineering team in discovering customer manufacturing needs, scoping deliverable solutions, and handing commitments to Build Engineering.
What you'll do
- Lead customer discovery, technical relationships, and presentations; translate observed needs and constraints into evidence-based solutions.
- Manage and develop the forward deployed engineering team and own manufacturing scoping, including requirements review and clear handoffs to Build Engineering.
- Create repeatable scoping approaches and solution templates from recurring customer patterns.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, or a related engineering field and 8+ years of manufacturing or manufacturing engineering experience, or 12+ years of that experience without a degree.
- 3+ years managing technical teams (direct reports).
- Customer-facing technical experience, including presenting recommendations to customer engineering and program leadership, and leading a team that translates customer requirements into manufacturing reality.
- Experience with structured customer discovery, engineering drawings and specifications (including GD&T), and scoping or defining manufacturing work.
Nice to have
- Experience in aerospace, defense, maritime, or other high-complexity, high-mix manufacturing; or across both startup and mature manufacturing environments.
- Exposure to manufacturing processes, software, or automation, and experience building repeatable systems and templates.
Pay
USD $300K – $415K (base salary); Equity (amount not stated)
Tools
GD&T, MES/ERP, CAM automation, robotics
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative